CVE-2020-4259
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedIBM Sterling File Gateway 2.2.0.0 through 6.0.3.1 could allow an authenticated user could manipulate cookie information and remove or add modules from the cookie to access functionality not authorized to. IBM X-Force ID: 175638.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · high confidenceIBM Sterling File Gateway versions 2.2.0.0 through 6.0.3.1 contains an insecure direct object reference vulnerability where authenticated users can manipulate cookie values to add or remove modules, thereby gaining unauthorized access to functionality they were not granted.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data>= 2.2.0.0, <= 2.2.6.5_1>= 6.0.0.0, <= 6.0.3.1CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify installed IBM Sterling File Gateway versionCheck the product version in the installation directory, typically found in version.properties, about.html, or via the administrative console under System Information or Help > AboutAffected if The installed version falls within 2.2.0.0 through 2.2.6.5_1 OR 6.0.0.0 through 6.0.3.1
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Locate cookie storage and session management configurationInspect the application's session management configuration files (typically in the config or security directory) and identify where user session cookies are defined and managedAffected if The application uses cookie-based session management without server-side integrity validation on module-related cookie values
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Examine module permission assignment mechanismReview the application logs or trace files for module access patterns, and check if user role definitions include module entitlements that could be bypassed via cookie modificationAffected if User module permissions are stored in client-accessible cookies rather than validated server-side on each request
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Test cookie value manipulation vectorUsing an authenticated session, intercept the request and attempt to modify cookie values related to module access or permissions, observing whether the application accepts the altered valuesAffected if The application accepts and acts upon modified cookie values without re-validating permissions server-side, allowing unauthorized module access
You are affected if your IBM Sterling File Gateway version is between 2.2.0.0-2.2.6.5_1 or 6.0.0.0-6.0.3.1 and module permissions are determined by modifiable cookie values rather than server-side validation.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
From vendor dataApply IBM's patch for this vulnerability and implement server-side validation with cryptographic integrity checks on all cookie/session data to prevent client-side manipulation.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,800.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-4259 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2020-4259 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data